I'll Protect You
by Perpetual Paradox
Summary: Set in the middle of Star Force 3, soon after Luna's return. It's her first day heading back to school after being reconstructed, and Luna begins to notice something off about Geo. Can she get him to confess what's bothering him? Oneshot. A bit of GeoxLuna but not too much.


**This is my first fanfic ever.. so yeah. Reviews would be wonderful.**

 **As a side note, I ship GeoxSonia so hard, but this idea popped into my head so I just had to write it. I was disappointed at the lack of a proper close to the whole 'Luna nearly dying' arc in SF3, hoping there'd be more interaction between the group afterward, or at least between Geo and Luna. So, I wrote my own aftermath. Obviously, this is set very soon after Luna is reconstructed by Dr. Goodall.**

 **Enjoy.**

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She didn't remember much of it, but Luna wasn't going to say that she wasn't grateful. Of course, her friends had filled her in on everything that had happened in her absence, in between painful sobs and joyful outbursts. Her return had meant a lot to all of them.. not that she would expect otherwise.

From the sounds of it, just about everyone at WAZA had been working hard alongside her friends to bring her back from, well, the dead. It was inspiring, to say the least. When she had been told, she almost didn't believe that so many people had helped to bring her back, especially against such impossible odds. But she knew her friends, and she didn't find it hard to believe that they never gave up.

Luna contemplated all of this while sitting in front of her bedroom mirror. She had finished doing her makeup nearly five minutes ago, and had been sitting in silence since then. It had Vogue a tad worried, but the wizard had yet to speak up.

Only when Luna let out a quiet sigh did Vogue decide to catch her human companion's attention. "Um, Luna? You don't want to be late for school, do you?"

"Oh," Luna replied, blinking as she was pulled from her thoughts. "You're right Vogue, sorry. I lost track of time." With that, the blonde girl stood and grabbed her Hunter. She pressed a button which returned her wizard to the device, and slipped it into her pocket. After a quick glance at her clock to confirm the time, she quickly headed off toward the door.

Though she wouldn't admit it, Luna was a bit nervous about returning to school. She knew that everyone was aware of her absence and had been hoping for her safe return. Not that she didn't want the attention, but she didn't really want to be attacked with questions either. It was hard enough trying to explain the whole experience to Dr. Goodall, her friends and her parents. She had gotten tired of it.

Once Luna had gotten outside, she was met with a sight she hadn't expected. Geo was waiting outside for her, and he greeted her with a small smile and a wave.

"Hey Prez," he said, bringing a hand up to rub the back of his neck. "I know we only do this on special occasions, but do you mind if we walk to school together? I mean, since it's your first day back and all.. I hope you don't mind."

Luna was quick to shake her head. "No, no, I don't mind. I just wasn't expecting you. Of course we can walk together. Where are Zack and Bud?"

"They already headed off, but I figured I could wait," Geo answered. He turned to start walking but cast a glance back at her to make sure she was following. Luna took a few quick steps to catch up to him, and the two were soon walking side by side toward the school.

As they walked, Luna soon began to notice how tense Geo seemed. She could have been wrong, but she swore he was walking closer than normal as well. She took note of his expression.. he almost looked determined, and it instantly reminded her of Mega Man. It wasn't a surprise, nowadays Geo often reminded her of the blue hero, considering how much he had matured since she first met him.

"What are you looking at?" Geo asked, and Luna realized that she had been staring at his face. She quickly looked away, a slight blush tinting her cheeks.

"What, I'm not allowed to look at you?" she asked with a huff.

"N- no, that's not.. I mean, I'm sorry," he stuttered nervously, taking his own gaze away from the girl. He suddenly found the ground much more interesting, and prepared to walk in silence the rest of the way.

Luna, on the other hand, began to feel bad. Her response had only been meant as a jest, and Geo usually knew that. "I didn't mean that.. I was just teasing you. You have to lighten up, you know."

"Oh.. right," Geo replied, once again returning his hand to the back of his neck in a nervous gesture. He opened his mouth as if to add something, but it soon snapped shut again when a sudden noise caught his attention. The loud rustling of a nearby bush startled both kids, and Geo instinctively stepped in front of Luna and stretched out an arm in a protective stance. Then, quite suddenly, from the bush leaped.. a cat. It mewed inquisitively at the two before running off down the street.

Luna blinked at the scene, staring at Geo for what seemed like an eternity before the boy stepped away once the cat that had startled them ran off. "Geo.."

Geo wanted nothing more than to change the subject, while also praying that no one else in town besides Luna had seen that happen. "S- sorry, I thought it was a virus or something."

"You were ready to protect me?" Luna asked. It was so fast, how he sprang into action. The only way it would have been more shocking was if he had transformed into Mega Man as well.

"Well, yeah, I.." the boy trailed off, suddenly finding it hard to maintain eye contact. He glanced up in the direction of the school. "We should keep going so we're not late."

"What were you going to say?" Luna asked. "You what?" She wasn't going to drop this one. Geo had been acting a bit off today, and she needed to know why.

"Zack and Bud might get worried.." he started, still not making eye contact. "They-"

"Geo," she interrupted him, using a stern tone that meant she wasn't going to let this go. "Tell me what you were going to say."

Feeling trapped, Geo let his gaze fall to the ground. "I.. don't.. want to lose you again. It was my fault I was caught off guard by Joker.. I won't let it happen again. Ever."

Luna's eyes widened slightly at his words. The memory of her 'death' was hazy, but Dr. Goodall had told her what happened, since Geo told her. And yet, she never stopped to consider how it had affected Geo. "You think that was your fault?"

At first, Geo could only nod. Luna had seen that look on his face before, but only a few times. It was the look he held when he was on the verge of tears, but fighting to hold it in. And that face was for her, not for his dad, like it always was. It made her heart break. "What happened was not your fault. And you brought me back, so what does it matter?"

"You don't remember what happened. How can you say it wasn't my fault?" Geo asked, the pain in his voice betraying the brave face he tried to hold.

"Because I know you, and I know that you wouldn't let something like that happen on purpose, right?" she replied.

Geo shook his head. "Of course not.. but that doesn't-" He was suddenly interrupted when Luna pulled him into a tight hug. At this, a few tears finally managed to escape, and rolled down his cheeks. He returned the embrace. "I'll protect you.. count on it."

Luna smiled at those words. She had heard Mega Man speak them, what felt like ages ago. It reminded her once again how much Geo had grown up. "I know you will. But you can't protect me by feeling sorry about what happened, okay?" she said softly, soon pulling herself away from the boy.

Geo also reluctantly pulled away, and gave a nod. "Yeah.. you're right. But I'm not going to stop protecting you from stray cats."

Luna laughed, happy that his sense of humor had returned. "That's fine by me." She glanced in the direction of the school, for once not caring about the time. "We're late, so let's hurry up and get to class." With this, she grabbed a hold of his hand and started tugging him along.

Geo laughed at this, and it was like music to her ears. Yes, it was good to be back.


End file.
